Midnight Mania! Deontay Wilder: ‘Me and Francis Ngannou were supposed to fight first’

Welcome to Midnight Mania!

There appears to be only one real option for Francis Ngannou in his sophomore boxing match. After his stunningly valiant performance against the world’s best Heavyweight boxer, Tyson Fury, in October 2023 (watch highlights), Ngannou finds himself primed for another big-name match up. Ideally for most fans, “The Predator” will take on Deontay Wilder, who was being rumored as a possibility before Fury.

Before Fury vs. Ngannou became official, Wilder made an appearance at a Professional Fighters League (PFL) regular season event earlier in 2023. Wilder’s attendance became an instant tease for a pairing with the then-newly signed Ngannou, and according to “The Bronze Bomber,” it should have come to fruition.

Lucky Block. “It’s made it bigger and better for him because he’s made a name for himself in boxing to the point it’s getting people excited about a fight with the likes of me.

“Those talks have been discussed and there’s more talks to be discussed,” he continued. “I’ve got a few meetings with different people, CEOs of the company (PFL) to talk about certain things and to see what happens in the future. The future is bright. I’ll be with the Saudis for my next fights, I signed a contract with them, and after that my future is bright. Maybe we can get a Ngannou fight between certain other fights. There’s a lot going on between boxing and MMA. I’m looking forward to stepping in the ring with Francis and getting a fight going.”

Fury vs. Ngannou was each competitor’s first — and what will be their only — bout of 2023. While Ngannou’s MMA return and debut in PFL is expected to come in early 2024, a second boxing match still seems to be his first order of business. PFL Founder, Donn Davis, has mentioned the possibility of a Wilder bout getting put together. Instead of boxing or MMA, however, Davis mentioned the clash coming under a mixed rules ruleset.

watch highlights). For Wilder, that’s the type of series he can get behind with the former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Heavyweight champion, Ngannou.

“The first time we had the discussion I told him we should do one in boxing and one in MMA, I think that would be very entertaining for the fans on both sides because most times you see MMA guys come into our world and we’re not coming into their world,” Wilder said. “But I want to be fair, I’m always fair. If he comes over here to boxing, the next one I’ll go over there where he’s more comfortable and where I’m more out of my element. That would be very competitive and we’d put on a great show for everyone make history, and talk about it for years with our family and kids. I would love it that way.”

@ufc belt. There are only 8 country flags on the belt. They signal the 1st 8 countries that won ufc gold. I done it for Ireland! UP THE IRISH! IRISH FOREVER! pic.twitter.com/OMH6NafEgV— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) December 7, 2023

Get them jits yo.

Quality. Still can’t believe Rockstar had to tease us two years early.

Are you entering?

Representing!